Dishwasher water tower

ABSTRACT

A tower having an enlarged upper reaction spray head is rotatably secured to a lower dishwasher rack or rack portion by a bearing mounting force fitted on the upper ends of vertical rack pins. The tower is driven by a central jet of washing fluid or water from a bottom spray arm below the rack to provide a substantially full upwardly directed spray pattern over the area above the lower rack or rack portion.

United States Patent [1 1 Schweitzer [451 Nov. 27, 1973 DISHWASHER WATER TOWER [75] Inventor: Andrew N. Schweitzer, Mansfield,

Ohio

[73] Assignee: The Tappan Company, Mansfield,

Ohio

[22] Filed: Aug. 30, 1971 121 Appl. No.: 175,939

[52] U.S. Cl. 134/179, 134/183 [51] Int. Cl B08b 3/02 [58] Field of Search 134/144, 176, 179, 134/183 [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,375,835 4/1968 Lopp et al 134/176 2,664,903 1/1954 Sway 3,213,866 10/1965 Martiniak ..l34/l76X 3,368,573 2/1968 Mixon 134/183 X 3,570,506 3/1971 Reifenberg 3,017,892 1/1962 Mi ron 134/176 Primary ExaminerRobert L. Bleutge Attorney-Donnelly et al.

[5 7 ABSTRACT A tower having an enlarged upper reaction spray head is rotatably secured to a lower dishwasher rack or rack portion by a bearing mounting force fitted on the upper ends of vertical rack pins. The tower is driven by a central jet of washing fluid or water from a bottom spray arm below the rack to provide a substantially full upwardly directed spray pattern over the area above the lower rack or rack portion.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED "UV 2 7 19B l ll i INVENTOR. ANDREW IV. .SCHWE/TZER BY fiM M lama/4 M ATTORNEYS 1 DISHWASHER WATER TOWER This invention relates to a water tower form of distributor or spray device to be used in an automatic dishwasher to provide a second or supplemental spray of the washing fluid and the rinse water between the usual lower and upper dish racks and thus against the bottom of the latter.

The primary spray is customarily developed in the bottom of the washer tub, beneath the rack or the lower rack when separate upper and lower racks are used, and the obstructive effect of the bottom rack loading is well and widely known. A not uncommon solution in more expensive machines is a second spray arm roughly in the middle of the tub as shown, for example, in US. Pat. No. 3,261,554 concerned with a front loading dishwasher having separately withdrawable lower and upper racks and lower and upper reaction spray arms respectively beneath the same. However, the patent also illustrates the additional structure, and hence cost, that this approach requires, noting only briefly a mounting fixture secured to the tub rotatably to support the upper arm, and the added water supply conduit brought up from the pump means over the back exterior of the tub.

Such exterior conduiting is in effect replaced in US. Pat. No. 3,375,835 by a vertical or axial connection of an upper spray arm, but such substitute is not uncomplicated in comprising a vertical nozzle, a flexible bellows' connector, and a specially formed lower'rack for the rotative mounting of the upper arm.

It is thus a primaryv object of the present invention to provide extremely economical means for generating the desired intermediate or elevated spray in a dishwasher.

An important factor has been the provision of a simple mounting for the new spray device that can readily be applied, without tools, to the lower rack or rack portion. This spray device is preferably in the form of a tower having an enlarged head formed with reaction elements and rotatably driven in its mounting by having the fluid delivered axially under pressure; such delivery is preferably accomplished'by a jet or pressure stream through space to avoid any restrictive mechanical coupling.

As will also appear, the new spray means, including the mounting, is fully constituted of only three parts all readily molded from plastic material.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawing setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed. In said annexed drawing:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of the new spray tower mounted in position on a lower dishwasher rack or rack portion above the center of a lower spray arm, with the rack and spray arm being fragmented for convenience.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the tower assembly with its upper distributing end in section;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the FIG. 2 assembly; and

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of a cap which forms the upper end of the tower.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the spray tower comprises a hollow tubular body 10 and a cap, designated generally by reference numeral 12, snapfitted on the upper end of the body. The latter is flared at its fully open lower end 14 and also, to a somewhat greater extent, at its upper end 16 where it is further provided with a peripheral flange l8 and two diametrically opposed cam locking ears, one of which is shown at 20.

The cap 12 is formed as a separate piece with a depressed central section 22 which is generally conical but has a uniformly curved surface as illustrated and is also truncated at its lower end to provide a relatively small axial opening 24. There are integrally formed baffles 26 of general V-shape projecting from the surface of section 22 and defining four upwardly and outwardly curving paths for fluid flowing out through the cap.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inner edges of these baffles engage the inner wall of the tower body 10, so that such paths become four fluid discharge passages 28. The latter lead respectively to radial slots or outlets 30 in a reverse conical section 32 of the cap, and there is a flanged wall or skirt 34 which in the assembly snaps over the body flange 18. The firmness of this attachment is aided by the ears 20, which engage in correspondingly angled slots 36 in the cap skirt to spread the latter enough that a very tight snap-fit can be realized.

The cap is also provided with angular deflectors 38 which extend in the same rotational direction over the outlets 30 and provide reactive force upon impingement of the fluid discharged respectively through the latter to rotate the tower.

The tower body further has two exterior rings 40 spaced longitudinally apart and just above the flared lower end 14 of the body. A one-piece mount, designated generally at 42, is assembled on the body between the rings, which serve to limit longitudinal movement of the mount relative to the body. As shown, the rings are spaced apart at a distance somewhat greater than the height of the mount and the inner diameter of the latter is slightly greater than that of the encircled part of the body, so that the mount serves as a bearing in which the body can freely rotate.

The mount is also molded of plastic material, with polypropylene being preferred for all of the components, and its two ends are respectively formed as a longitudinal male bead rail 44 and an opposed female socket 46 for closing the mount about the body.

The mount is further provided with a first pair of diagonally opposite feet 48 having vertical sockets 50 therein to fit on vertical pins 52 of the lower dish rack 54. Two more diagonally opposed feet 56 are formed with vertical through slots 58 and snap laterally about two rack pins 60 which have upset or headed ends 62. The engagement of the heads of these last feet, at the top ends of the latter, will be seen to provide positive vertical restraint on the mount to assure that it will not lift accidentally from the rack.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, normal expected use of the spray tower is in an automatic dishwasher having a bottom spray arm 64, and it is relatively unimportant how this arm is constructed and and operated. However, it would normally be expected that the arm is rotatable by reaction due to angularly directed jets from orifices as shown at 66, on the vertical centerline of the tub, so that the tower would be positioned correspondingly in the central part of the lower rack or rack portion with its axis on such centerline. Accordingly, the lower spray arm or other spray device need only be provided with an upwardly directed center discharge 68 to deliver washing fluid or rinse water to the lower end 14 of the tower body 10.

The spray pattern produced by the tower in the portion above the lower rack and hence below the upper rack or upper rack portion, includes the revolving spray through the outlets 30 and, in addition, a vertical discharge through the flared cap by virtue of its lower end opening 24. The coverage of the area above the tower and normally below the upper rack, which has been omitted for convenience, is thereby fairly complete and includes the immediately superimposed central area.

I, therefore, particulary point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A water spray tower for providing a spray pattern within a dishwasher tub having a lower dish rack with a plurality of vertical pins substantially fully over an area appreciably above said rack, comprising an elongated tubular body having an open lower end and distributing means at its upper end, said distributing means being formed to discharge pressure fluid from within the body centrally thereabove and over a laterally enlarged upper region, the spray tower being adapted to receive the pressure fluid at its lower end as a vertical jet from supply means spaced therebeneath and below the rack, mounting means for supporting the body on the lower rack for rotation of the body on its axis to generate such lateral spray, the mounting means including sockets forcibly engaged on ends of vertical pins of the rack to secure the mounting means to the rack, at least one of the last-named vertical pins of the rack having an enlarged portion proximate the upper end thereof and a socket of the mounting means including a slot portion adapted to snap about said one vertical pin below the enlarged portion thereof, and reaction means for thus rotating the body responsive to the flow of the pressure fluid, whereby the sockets secure the tubular body of the spray tower in position on respective vertical pins in spaced relation above the supply means and the slot and enlarged part of said one pin cooperate to prevent upward vertical movement of the tubular body of the spray tower thus prohibiting vertical and rotational movement of the tubular body relative to the rack.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the mounting means includes a sleeve bearing part that encircles a significant vertical extent of the body for the rotative support of the latter.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein the upper end of the body is enlarged, and the distributing means comprises plural upwardly and outwardly flared discharge passages. 

1. A water spray tower for providing a spray pattern within a dishwasher tub having a lower dish rack with a plurality of vertical pins substantially fully over an area appreciably above said rack, comprising an elongated tubular body having an open lower end and distributing means at its upper end, said distributing means being formed to discharge pressure fluid from within the body centrally thereabove and over a laterally enlarged upper region, the spray tower being adapted to receive the pressure fluid at its lower end as a vertical jet from supply means spaced therebeneath and below the rack, mounting means for supporting the body on the lower rack for rotation of the body on its axis to generate such lateral spray, the mounting means including sockets forcibly engaged on ends of vertical pins of the rack to secure the mounting means to the rack, at least one of the last-named vertical pins of the rack having an enlarged portion proximate the upper end thereof and a socket of the mounting means including a slot portion adapted to snap about said one vertical pin below the enlarged portion thereof, and reaction means for thus rotating the body responsive to the flow of the pressure fluid, whereby the sockets secure the tubular body of the spray tower in position on respective vertical pins in spaced relation above the supply means and the slot and enlarged part of said one pin cooperate to prevent upward vertical movement of the tubular body of the spray tower thus prohibiting vertical and rotational movement of the tubular body relative to the rack.
 2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the mounting means includes a sleeve bearing part that encircles a significant vertical extent of the body for the rotative support of the latter.
 3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein the upper end of the body is enlarged, and the distributing means comprises plural upwardly and outwardly flared discharge passages. 